Museums and Galleries

Fall Arts Preview 2010: Visual Art and Photography

1708 GALLERY

SECAC/MACAA Juried Members Exhibition — An exhibition in conjunction with a joint gathering of the Southeastern College Art Association and Mid-America College Art Association and hosted by Virginia Commonwealth University (10/15-11/13) Small Works 2010 — Winter fundraising invitational of small works (11/19-12/18) Matthew Friday — Using historical documents, representations of electronic diagrams and public input, Friday’s artwork offers a collective reaction to sociological and uptopian ideals of the past (1/7-2/12/11) Natalie Ball and Kimberly Witham — Ball creates painted quilts that incorporate antique textiles and reflect on her personal and familial experience, while Witham’s photographs capture the relationship between life and death and between urban development and the decimation of nature (2/18-3/26/11)21st Annual Art Auction — The gallery’s largest fundraising event of the year and an opportunity to acquire first-class works of art (4/1-4/16/11) Kevin Jones and Michael McFalls — Jones installs digitally produced images and video sculptures mimicking the methods society uses to understand and control our environment, while McFalls uses common waste and plaster to create objects existing in the space between natural phenomena and the man-made (4/22-5/28/11) Greg Stewart — Stewart creates sculptures, ”complex structures and absurd situations that offer imaginary solutions to migration and survival” (6/3-7/16/11) Liz Miller — Miller’s artwork is inspired by the complex combination of systems that comprise contemporary existence (7/22-8/27/11)

ARTHUR M. SACKLER GALLERY

Chinamania: Whistler and the Victorian Craze for Blue-and-White — Blue-and-white Chinese porcelain became a hot item in London in the 1870s, a craze the British press mockingly dubbed “Chinamania” (Now to 7/7/11) Fiona Tan: Rise and Fall — The first major presentation of this Indonesian-Dutch photographer and videographer, who deftly melds the past with the present in profoundly evocative works (9/25-1/16/11) Shahnama: 1000 Years of the Persian Book of Kings — Exhibition celebrates the millennium of the poet Firdawsi’s Shahnama, considered one of the greatest literary works ever written, retelling the early history of Iran (10/23-4/17/11) Echoes of the Past: The Buddhist Cave Temples of Xiangtangshan — Majestic 6th-Century Chinese Buddhist sculpture is combined with 3D imaging technology in this exploration of one of the most important groups of Buddhist devotional sites in early medieval China (2/26-7/31/11)

CIVILIAN ART PROJECTS

Erick Jackson and Trish Tillman — Jackson features new large-scale paintings of dreamy night scenes and saturated color paradise, while Tillman features intimidating sculptural installations and works made of paper, found objects and other media (Now-10/16) Noelle K. Tan and a group photography exhibition — An ambitious B&W photography project documenting history, dreams and other significant cultural markers in America (10/23-11/24) Jonah Takagi — Civilian collaborates with Apartment Zero to celebrate a new designer (12/2-1/8/11)

CORCORAN GALLERY OF ART

Chuck Close Prints: Process and Collaboration — First-ever survey to examine American artist’s extensive and groundbreaking work in the field of printmaking, with more than 100 finished works and proofs on display (Extended through 9/26) Photography and Media Arts — A new series of rotating exhibitions from the permanent collection documenting the Corcoran’s longstanding dedication to the art of photography and its convergence with other art forms, from literature to cinema to journalism (Permanent) Spencer Finch: My Business, with the Cloud — Corcoran launches its new contemporary gallery program NOW at the Corcoran with this Brooklyn-based artist, who explores the poetic, physical and meteorological aspects of clouds (Now to 1/23/11)Chris Martin — A two-part exhibition by this D.C.-native abstract painter, with a site-specific installation of monumental paintings in the Corcoran’s central atrium (6/18-10/23/11)

EVOLVE URBAN ARTS PROJECT

What We Leave Behind: Marty Ittner and Michele Cormier — Both of these artists, an encaustic collage artist and a painter respectively, create visually dense works that reference the discarded physical and emotional remnants of our busy lives (Now to 10/30)

FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY

Vivat Rex! Commemorating the 500th Anniversary of the Accession of Henry VIII — Rare books, manuscripts, handwritten letters and prints offer an in-depth look at the real Henry and the machinations of his court in a time of extraordinary change for England (9/24–12/30) Beyond Home Remedy: Women, Medicine and Science — This exhibition highlights women at all levels of society in Shakespeare’s England who were known to practice medicine and make ”healthy” potions (1/21-5/14/11)

GALLERY 10

George Iso & Judith Richelieu (Now to 9/25) Margaret L. Paris — ”Fish As Life: Photographic Scanner Prints” features 16 inkjet prints inspired by the skeletal and textural beauty of a fish that was revealed during a daily meal (10/1-10/30) Adrienne and Linda Heinrich (11/3-27) Collector’s Choice — An all members show (12/1-25)

HILLWOOD MUSEUM & GARDENS

A Photographic Journey of the Ambassador’s Daughter: Moscow 1937-38 — Photographs from the private albums of Emlen Knight Davies, vividly documenting her family’s journey to Russia as World War II was just unfolding (10/26-5/29/11)

HIRSHHORN MUSEUM & SCULPTURE GARDEN

Black Box: Superflex — Danish art collective has staged unconventional artworks that use social intervention as a means of calling attention to such issues as democratization, environmentalism and consumerism (Now to 11/28) Directions: Pipilotti Rist — Rist’s new feature-length film, a fantastical narrative reminiscent of fairy tales and the Beatles’ cinematic romps, screens in limited enagement (October, Ring Auditorium) Guillermo Kuitca: Everything, Paintings and Works on Paper, 1980-2008 — Argentinean creates visually compelling works that reflect his intense yet often ambivalent relationship to his primary medium of painting (10/21-1/16/11) Directions: Cyprien Gaillard and Mario Garcia Torres — A French and a Mexican artist represent a new generation of conceptual artists who examine the architectural and artistic ”ruins” of the recent past, employing photography and original music to ask whether ideas and achievements of today’s artists will prove any more enduring than their forebears’ (11/10-3/27/11) Black Box: Hans Op de Beeck — Belgian multi-media artist’s black-and-white film Staging Silence plays with perception and transforms the real into the surreal in ways both ridiculous and serious (12/6-2/27/11) Blinky Palermo: Retrospective — First comprehensive American survey of the work of influential postwar German painter, who adhered to Modernism’s bold colors and geometric forms but drifted away from traditional materials (2/24-5/15/11)

INDUSTRY GALLERY

Nature/Data — First solo U.S. exhibition for New York-based Italian designer and architect Antonio Pio Saracino, with works executed in plywood, metal, carbon fiber and synthetics and abstract from natural forms such as molecules, leaves, blossoms and crystals (Now to Oct. 30)

LONG VIEW GALLERY

Michael Benson — ”Images from…Beyond: Visions of Our Solar System” features this photographer’s work in creating composite mosaics and prints drawn from decades-old raw or partially processed photographs of the solar system, taken by interplanetary probes traveling through space (Now to 10/24) Scott G. Brooks — The prolific and uniquely gifted Brooks unveils an exhibit of all-new paintings. Entitled “We the People,” it has a political bend to it (10/29-11/28)

MANSION AT STRATHMORE

Abstraction: More Than Meets The Eye — A multimedia show focused on abstract art and exploring the journey from representational art to abstraction (Now-10/16) International Exhibition of Fine Arts in Miniature — Featuring works in acrylic by Michael Bignell and works in oil by Mikhail Kononov (11/20-12/30)

NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART

Edvard Munch: Master Prints — Nearly 60 of Munch’s most important prints are on display until Halloween, a fitting end date for the master of the haunted portrayal (Now to 10/31) Arcimboldo, 1526–1593: Nature and Fantasy — Sixteen examples of the fantastic composite heads painted by Arcimboldo will be featured in this exhibition, their first appearance in the United States (9/19-1/9/11) The Pre-Raphaelite Lens: British Photography and Painting, 1848–1875 — Some 100 photographs and 20 paintings and watercolors chronicle the roles photography and Pre-Raphaelite art played in changing concepts of vision and truth in representation (10/31-1/30/11) Venice: Canaletto and His Rivals — Exhibition celebrates the rich variety of 18th-century paintings of Venice, including 20 masterworks by Canaletto and some 40 by his rivals, including Francesco Guardi, Bernardo Bellotto and Michele Marieschi (2/20-5/30/11) Gauguin: Maker of Myth (2/27-6/5/11) Gabriel Metsu, 1629–1667 — One of the most important Dutch genre painters of the mid-17th century, who captured ordinary moments of life with freshness and spontaneity (4/17-7/24/11)

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MUSEUM

Geckos: Tails to Toepads — Featuring more than 15 species of live geckos from all over the world. Through a series of computer and tactile interactives visitors can experience gecko night vision, magnify gecko toepads, listen to gecko sounds, and build a custom gecko for various environments (Now to 1/5/11) Wild Music: Sounds & Songs of Life — Whales compose, bullfrogs chorus, songbirds greet the dawn, and people everywhere sing and dance. What do we all have in common? Wild Music explores evidence for the biological origins of music through highly interactive exhibits and exceptional sound experiences (10/1-1/2/11) America I Am: The African American Imprint — A touring exhibition celebrating nearly 500 years of African American contributions to the United States across four core areas: economic, socio-political, cultural, and spiritual. Twelve thematic galleries, created in collaboration with leading scholars such as Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Cornel West, feature more than 200 rare historic objects, documents, photographs, and multimedia (2/2-5/1/11)

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN

Up Where We Belong: Native Musicians in Popular Culture — Explores the many native artists who have had successful and influential careers in pop music (Now to 1/2/11)

Vantage Point: The Contemporary Native Art Collection — Highlights the museum’s young but vital collection of contemporary art, with significant works by 25 artists in media ranging from paintings, drawings, and photography to video projection and mixed-media installation (9/25-8/7/11)

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

Americans Now — An installation, centered on portraits from the gallery, exploring the fleeting nature of time and memory by examining contemporary faces, mostly famous but not exclusively, in a variety of forms and media (Now to 7/10/11) One Life: Katharine Graham — Late Washington Post publisher led an extraordinary life in extraordinary times (10/1-5/30/11) Elvis at 21 — In 1956, 26-year old Alfred Wertheimer was asked to photograph the rising 21-year-old-star (10/23-1/23/11) Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture — The first major museum exhibition to focus on the question of sexual difference and ambiguity in the making of modern American portraiture, with an exploration of how the push for lesbian and gay civil rights has been reflected in art (10/30-2/13/11)

SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM

Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg — Exploring the connections between images of American life and the movies (Now to 1/2/11) A Revolution in Wood: The Bresler Collection — Works by some of the best-known wood artists in the United States highlight the expressive capacity of craft’s most organic material, and display wood-turning’s growing sophistication (9/24-1/30/11) Alexis Rockman: A Fable for Tomorrow — One of the first contemporary artists to build his career around exploring environmental issues, from evolutionary biology and genetic engineering to deforestation and climate change (11/19-5/8/11) Close to Home: Photographers and Their Families — Exhibition presents photographs made during the past three decades by both established and emerging artists turning the lenses on their own families to document personal histories and record intimate moments (2/24-7/24/11) To Make a World: George Ault and 1940s America — During the turbulent 1940s, this artist created precise yet eerie pictures that have come to be seen, following his death, as some of the most original paintings made in America in those years (3/11-9/5/11) The Great American Hall of Wonders — Exhibition examines the American ingenuity that energized all aspects of 19th Century society, from the painting of landscapes and scenes of everyday life to the planning of scientific expeditions and the development of new mechanical devices (7/15/11-1/8/12)

THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION

Side by Side: Oberlin’s Masterworks at the Phillips— Twenty-five significant works from the rich collection of the Allen Memorial Art Museum at Oberlin College will be presented with selections from the Phillips’s permanent collection, creating new artistic conversations and provocative juxtapositions (Now to 1/16/11) TruthBeauty: Pictorialism and the Photograph as Art, 1845–1945 — Like Impressionism, which challenged the traditions of painting, Pictorialism expanded the possibilities of photography beyond the literal description of a subject, influencing subsequent developments in modernist photography (9/9-1/9/11) Coburn and the Photographic Portfolio — This exhibition runs in conjunction with TruthBeauty, featuring 16 photographs fromAmerican expatriate Alvin Langdon Coburn, one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century (9/9-1/9/11) David Smith Invents — David Smith, one of America’s most celebrated sculptors, blurred the boundaries between sculpture, painting and drawing in the mid-20th Century (2/12-5/15/11) Philip Guston, Roma — This 20th Century painter, an artist-in-residence at the American Academy in Rome in the early 1970s, drew inspiration from Italian art and culture and the distinctive Italian landscape (2/12-5/15/11)

THE TEXTILE MUSEUM

Colors of the Oasis: Central Asian Ikats — 19th Century Central Asian ikats are distinguished by bold, original designs using vibrant colors and are prized for their great beauty, and the influence of ikat designs can be seen in contemporary fashion and home décor (10/16-3/13/11) Second Lives: The Age-Old Art of RecyclingTextiles — Exhibition highlights the ways people in various cultures ingeniously have repurposed worn but precious fabrics to create beautiful new textile forms (2/4-7/10/11) Green: the Color and the Cause — Exhibition explores the techniques people have devised to create textiles of green hue, the meanings this color has held in cultures across time and place, and the ways that contemporary textile artists and designers are responding to concerns about the environment (4/16-9/11/11)

TOUCHSTONE GALLERY

Grand Opening — This Penn Quarter gallery re-opens in its custom-designed, ground-floor site with a group show featuring art from its 50 members (Through 9/26) Charlie Dale and Rosemary Luckett (9/29-10/31) Charles St. Charles and Paula Lantz (11/3-11/28) Gary Bergel (12/1-12/23)

WASHINGTON PRINTMAKERS GALLERY

Director’s Cut — Director Annie Turner has selected some of her favorite work from five WPG members to exhibit in a group show with five complementary non-WPG artists, including Glenn Fry, Lindsay McCulloch and Jake Muirhead (Now-9/26) New Faces, New Prints — An all-member exhibition features the work of the five artists that have joined WPG this year: Shahla Abdi, Trisha Gupta, Tony Lazorko, Matina Marki Tillman and Brad Widness (9/28-10/24) Glimpses by Lee Newman — A retrospective including preliminary drawings and trial proofs as well as finished prints (10/26-11/28) Two Artists, Many Journeys: Carole Nelson and Margaret Adams Parker — A result of international travels and influences of these two artists, this exhibition features Nelson’s woodcuts and Parker’s woodcuts and etchings (11/30-1/2/11)

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